General Conference, Seventh session (GC7)

Vienna, Austria, 1-5 December 1997

Highlights

The seventh Session of the General Conference was opened by Mr. Johann Farnleitner, Federal Minister of Economic Affairs of Austria, who read an opening message from the President of Austria, Mr. Thomas Klestil, reiterating the commitment of the host country to UNIDO.

The Conference adopted the Business Plan for the Future Role and Functions of UNIDO, which defines future programmes and activities of the Organization. All speakers hailed.

Member States approved UNIDO's budget for 1998-1999 in the amount of US$ 129.5 million, which represented a 20 per cent reduction in comparison to the previous biennium.

The Conference confirmed the appointment of Carlos Alfredo Magariños of Argentina as new Director-General of UNIDO and bade a farewell to his predecessor, Mauricio de Maria y Campos of Mexico. Mr. Magariños pledged to transform the Organization "into a flexible and dynamic institution able to face up to the highly complex and changing international economic and political scene and, above all, substantially difference from the one in which UNIDO was created and developed."